Saturday, January 7, 2012

{all wrapped up} kindle case + tutorial

Last March, my hubby gave me a kindle for my birthday... I was so excited! He even got me the case that had a light in it! There were many nights spent reading to the wee hours with my handy dandy lighted case...

Until the tragedy happened (twice).

My little 3 year old is the perfect toddler when it comes to getting into things. She hardly gets into anything that she isn't supposed to until that fatal day...

I was reading my kindle and put it onto the nightstand for a minute to leave to grab something and came back into the room and the kindle had been ripped from its case! The prongs were broken off inside the kindle.

I am not going to lie... I was pretty close to crying!

But I kept it together and went into the other room to calm down.

A trip to Amazon to get fixed and we were golden.

After a little talk with her about how we shouldn't touch mommy's kindle, I thought we were on the same page.

Fast forward 3 months and the exact same thing happened again! I could not believe it! I should have been more careful, but I honestly thought she wouldn't touch it after how bad she felt the first time. I know some of you are thinking "She is 3... what do you expect?"... ha ha What can I say- She is my first child- I am still learning as I go along.
I guess I am just not meant to have a lighted kindle case. There is no way I was sending it in again and definitely not buying another one at $60 a pop!

So I made a new one... Unbreakable even!

So even though I made this for a kindle- you could really make it for anything... Ipad, tablet, nook, etc.

Here is how I made mine...

Supplies:

1 fat quarter main fabric

1 far quarter coordinating fabric for the liner

(I used the leftover fabric from the Messenger Bag I made for my sister... it was home dec weight but you could use whatever you had on hand)

fusible fleece

velcro

2 elastic hair elastics

To start, measure whatever you are creating the case for. My kindle measures 5x7.5 inches so the measurements will coordinate with that.

This tutorial is kind of a cut your fabric as you go, so for those who like to cut your fabric before you start, you will just have to visualize and calculate your measurements before you start.

Step 1: Cut your two hair elastics in half so that you have 4 pieces that are the same size.

Step 2: Pick the fabric that you want to be in the inside of the case (liner). Add 1 inch to the length and one inch to the width when you cut your pieces. ... My kindle is 5x7.5 inches, so I cut my 2 pieces of fabric to be 6x8.5 inches. (one for the front and one for the back inside of the case)

Step 3: Take your 4 pieces of the elastic hair ties, and line them up on each corners of the back piece of fabric and tape them down. Once they are taped down, I sewed the very edge of the elastic and fabric to hold it in place while I put the rest of the case together.

Step 4: Take two pieces of fabric and place them right sides together and sew down one of the long sides. Press seam open.

Step 5: Measure your liner piece and cut main fabric to be the same size. Measure and cut a piece of fusible fleece and iron it to the main piece of fabric.

Step 6: Put your liner and main fabric right sides together (make sure if you have a distinct pattern direction on your fabric that you place the pieces together correctly so that your fabric isn't facing the wrong way once sewn) and sew almost all the way around the fabric, but leave a 2-3 inch opening on the end that has the elastic ties. It is important that you make sure it is on the right side of the case, because this opening will be the place you insert the velcro strap in so it needs to the the side that will be the bottom of the case- or the part that has the elastic ties in it. Once it is sewn, turn it right side out and put aside for a minute.

Step 7: Cut a piece of fabric (using either the main or the liner fabric) that is 2x8 inches. Fold it in half right sides together and sew down the two long sides of the fabric. When you are done, it should look like this. Turn it right side out (kinda tricky if your fabric is thick... use something, like a chopstick, to help you turn it right sides out if you need). Set it aside for a minute.

Step 8: I knew when I made this case, that I wanted to have a cut out of one of the birds from the fabric be on the velcro strap that closes the case... So if you don't wish to have a cut out of your fabric on the strap, skip this step!

Ok... To make my bird, I cut it out of the fabric and then flipped it over and cut out a piece of fabric for the back side of the bird. I ironed both pieces to fusible interfacing. Then I decided I wanted it to be a little thicker so I cut out a bird from a piece of felt. So in the picture below, the left bird is the piece of fabric with interfacing, the middle is the felt, and the right is the front piece.

Step 9: Cut a piece of velcro. Take one of the velcro sides and place it on the strap. If you are doing the fabric cut out, take your bottom piece of the fabric with the interfacing and put it right side facing up, then lay the strap on top of it with the velcro on top of that. Sew the velcro to the strap while keeping your bottom piece of the cutout held in place.

After you are done, it should look like this once the velcro side is faced down. Now you are ready to sew the other 2 layers of the bird on. So line up both pieces with the bottom piece and sew around the edge to of the bird to secure all three layers.

When you are done, it should look like this.

Step 10: Take your case and your strap and tuck the edge of the strap into the hole where you left unsewn. Pin in place and sew the hole shut and the strap in place.

Step 11: Put your kindle or whatever you are making the case for inside the case and fold the top cover closed and then fold the flap over and measure where the other piece of velcro will need to be sewn. Pin and sew it in place.

Oh aren't kids just the greatest? Of course, we would never trade them in for anything; at least I wouldn't but my three boys sure pushed me more than once too. Good luck. Maybe the answer is to get her one of those child readers I've seen. She's probably curious but also little girls tend to want to be like Momma too. Make her a little cover for her own eReader. There are others but here is onehttp://www.amazon.com/Vtech-V-Reader-Animated-Book-System/dp/B00385UQZI

This is so sweet. I got a Kindle for Christmas and have been looking for ideas to make a case. Love yours! Also, my link party - The Inspiration Board is open and I would be so happy if you linked this up. I know my readers would love it.http://carolynshomework.blogspot.com/2012/01/inspiration-board-link-party-32.htmlcarolyn - homework

I am soo happy your 3 year old pulled that store bought thing apart. she knew!!! You were meant to design and have a glorious, unique cover like this. Man, this is beautiful. Isn't it funny how life deals us cards, which we think we don't like but then they end up being better for us than those we imagined for ourselves at first.

Thank you for making a great story and a good tutorial. We so appreciate it, and well, let me invite you also to come link it up at our link party at http://www.finecraftguild.com/party/ (next party is Wednesday).

I asked for this idea on CUTIES and you responded (about a month ago) Thank you! This is a really sweet idea. The only thing I may try to "tweek"...Maybe I can add some heavy cardboard or something (between the fabrics) to add some extra protection for when I carry my NOOK in my purse or tote bags.I especialy like the ponytail holder corners to hold the device in place.Thanks again,

Hi Brandy- I believe I used closer to a 1/2 inch seam allowance just so the elastics were sewn in well and didn't want to pull out. You could probably do it either way just calculate how big you device is and the add however much you need for seam allowances. Hope that helps!

Very nice and stylish. I would have made it slightly bigger perhaps to make sure the corners of the e-reader are farther away from the corners of the covers. I would like to make covers for my new KOBO soon. Your ideas are inspiring.

I agree.... I just finished making a cover for my Kobo this morning. It looks great but when I make another one, I will make it at least 1/2 inch bigger, or maybe even an inch? It's just a bit too snug and the edges are sticking out a bit.

Lovely pattern, easy to follow and looks great! I've done a patchwork front, with blue spot lining material, with a button on the strap for my friends 30th. I am really pleased with it. It'll be posted on my blog in April after she's had it so feel free to see what it looks like! Thank you x (mylittlemancreations.blogspot.com)

Awesome tutorial... I just made mine for my Kobo this morning and it looks great! I just commented that, for my next one, I will make it bigger as I find my Kobo edges are exposed a bit. Once I upload my photos onto my blog, I will link it here so you can see mine! Thanks for posting... your cover is adorable!! Love the bird.

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Thank you for this! Yours looks great, and I managed to make my mom a cute little case for her Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 with your directions. One word of warning to everyone who's not sewn a whole lot: Don't use velcro with adhesive like I had on hand. Oh my gosh, I have never been so mad or gummed up a needle so much, haha. I dissolved the adhesive with some homemade Goo Gone however, and things were much easier.

Thank you. I just completed making one for my son. It was challenging for me (newer to sewing) but I enjoyed it and it turned out okay. I had a hard time with the elastic hair ties. I also made the diaper bag you have on your site. Thanks for the tutorials.